Dinorah Friedmann-Morvinski, PhD
Project Title
Preclinical Evaluation of Dual-Targeted CAR T Cells and TME Modulation in Pediatric Brain Tumors
About the Investigator
Prof. Friedmann-Morvinski is an expert in cancer biology and immunology whose research focuses on adult and pediatric brain tumors. Her lab seeks to understand how tumor cells change their differentiation state, also referred to as tumor plasticity, and take advantage of this process to generate tumor heterogeneity. She also seeks to understand the role of the tumor microenvironment in this process and elucidate the cross-talk between tumor cells and non-transformed cells. She believes that understanding these mechanisms and interactions will facilitate the development of novel therapeutic strategies (focusing on immunotherapy and nanomedicine) to attack these aggressive types of cancer.
About the Research
Children with diffuse high-grade gliomas face poor outcomes, as these tumors are among the deadliest in young patients. While chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T-cell therapy has revolutionized blood cancer treatment, it has limited success against brain tumors due to the suppressive tumor environment and lack of common target markers. Our research aims to improve this by developing multi-target CAR T cells and combining them with immune-activating strategies, such as activating the STING pathway to boost innate immunity. Using advanced mouse models that mimic human pediatric gliomas, we will study how the tumor environment hampers immune response and explore ways to reshape it. This approach aims to create safer, more effective, and personalized treatments that could greatly improve survival and quality of life for children with these aggressive brain tumors.
